Selection, Evaluation and Generation of Test Cases in an Industrial Setting: a Process and a Tool

The test phase in safety-critical systems industry is a crucial phase of the development process. Some companies of these industries have their own test methods which do not reuse the notions available in the theory of software testing or model driven engineering. This paper reports on an experience in a testing process improvement made inside a safetycritical systems company in order to improve the quality of the test phase improvement. We present the initial situation, the objectives, the proposed process and the tools that are used to support it. In particular, we show that the most efficient improvements were achieved concerning the test process definition and in allowing a tailored and precise delimitation of the systems elements to be tested.